Java tools employ human-centered design methods

Network World|Jun 17, 2009 2:03 PM
PT

Every so often an acroynm comes along that just can't do the words behind it justice. Take Carnegie Mellon's new mineral-inspired acro Jadeite, one of two new tools designed to make Java programming easier (the other is dubbed Apatite). The gist of the tools is that they help developers more easily pinpoint APIs from the thousands of options at their disposal.

"This is a fundamental problem for all programmers, whether they are novices, professionals or the growing number of end users who just need to modify a Web page," said Brad Myers, professor of human-computer interaction at CMU, in a statement. "It's possible to design APIs so that they are easier to use, but still leaves thousands of existing APIs that are hard to use but essential for Java programming. Jadeite and Apatite help programmers find what they need among those existing APIs."

Anyway, behind the acronym Jadeite we have Java Documentation with Extra Information Tacked-on for Emphasis. No, not an exact letter-for-word match, and wouldn't have guessed it in a million years.

Apatite, meanwhile, stands for Associative Perusal of APIs That Identifies Targets Easily. Yeah, that one needed an acro.

Bob Brown is a news editor for Network World, blogs about network research, and works most closely with our staff's wireless/mobile reporters. Follow him on Twitter at Alphadoggs and connect via email at bbrown@nww.com